A Sect from a Spirit Vein
Chapter 222 - 183: Home at Last
Two days later, in the skies over the vast mountains of Qingzhou, within thick clouds, a Star-Winged Sky Ray flapped its fleshy wings, flying swiftly yet steadily.
Accompanied by the ethereal and distant cries of the Sky Ray echoing in the mountains, Lu Qian awoke from his meditation.
He put away the bottle of Star Dew Nourishing Spirit Pill, feeling the four types of Triple Transformation and two types of Double Transformation inscribed on the array map in his possession, and nodded in satisfaction.
This was a new set of Five Elements Grand Array array base and array map he purchased from the long-missed array specialty shop, the Treasure Array Pavilion, in the Plum Blossom Marketplace.
Over the past two years, Lu Qian had devoted almost all his time to honing his cultivation, studying arrays and secret techniques, leaving no time to research artifact refining, so he still needed to purchase the array base and array map externally.
However, now that Lu Qian’s array cultivation was honed to perfection, his vision naturally differed. He directly reviewed the appropriate Five Elements Grand Array array base and array map in the store and finally chose a set at the High-Tier Magical Artifact Level.
A complete set of array base and array map differs entirely from ordinary magical artifacts. Even if its material is of High-Tier Magical Artifact Level, it is sufficient for use up to mid-stage, even late-stage Foundation Establishment. At that time, Li Zhenru, the heir of the array master Xianyou Sect, used a High-Tier Magical Artifact Level Five Elements Grand Array at his mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, which was now used as the Mountain Protection Grand Array of Bichao Mountain.
And now, the set that Lu Qian newly purchased was of slightly better quality than Li Zhenru’s. The array base was cast into a token shape for convenient carrying, and after the four types of Triple Transformation were inscribed in the array map, there was still some space left, so Lu Qian added two types of Double Transformation into it.
Of course, the price was also very steep. Lu Qian revealed his profound knowledge in array cultivation, and after some haggling, he also exchanged a set of similar-grade Seven Stars Moon Closing Formation obtained from the Chaosheng Sect, still needing to pay an additional four thousand spirit stones.
But a treasure sword deserves a hero. With this brand-new grand array, which Lu Qian had been studying day and night for the past two days, he felt even more confident, like adding wings to a tiger, regarding the Foundation Establishment.
At this moment, the Star-Winged Sky Ray that the Shuangye Alliance was riding was also rented from the Flying Beast Pavilion in the Plum Blossom Marketplace.
The Flying Beast Pavilion is an industry of the large sect Spirit Beast Sect, cultivating various Wind-Controlling Beasts. However, to simultaneously meet the conditions of accommodating fifty people, adept at long-distance journeys, and having sufficient escape speed, there were very few suitable Wind-Controlling Beasts to choose from.
Only by adding more spirit stones did they manage to rent this Star-Winged Sky Ray. This is a common large Sky Ray variant bred by the Spirit Beast Sect, its body size less than one-fifth of a large Sky Ray, yet it has remarkable endurance and speed significantly faster than ordinary Sky Rays.
It only needs to rest for two hours a day, maintaining a flight speed of around five hundred miles per hour, so within just two days, it had traversed ten thousand miles from Cangzhou northward into the Qingzhou realm.
However, this carefully selected and highly expensive rented Sky Ray seemed somewhat wasted. Because as they traveled north, Lu Qian’s sense of the treasure land grew stronger, and by this moment, Lu Qian could almost be sure the treasure land was within a thousand-mile radius.
Lu Qian stood up, his heart filled with complexity. The land of Qingzhou, ten thousand miles away, was a distance that felt all too familiar...
Seeing Lu Qian emerge from the tent, everyone hurriedly came forward to welcome him.
Xu Yingcai even loudly asked, "Does the Sect Leader have any instructions?"
"Please have the beast-taming cultivators maintain the direction but slow down. I have a sense now, the Foundation Establishment treasure land is less than a thousand miles away."
Everyone was delighted to hear this, some becoming excited. They initially thought this trip might require crossing several provinces, potentially covering tens of thousands of miles, but they did not expect to reach the destination so quickly.
Only Tan Hong suddenly raised his head, his previously complicated expression turning even more surprised.
At this moment, Chen Wei was already diligently unfolding a large map of Qingzhou, drawing and marking on the paper. Lu Qian and Tan Hong exchanged a glance, moved forward, and then they heard Chen Wei hesitantly say while comparing the surrounding terrain to previous marketplaces passed, "If we head a thousand miles in this direction, it will be—"
"It’s Quyang County!" Tan Hong exclaimed in a low voice, suddenly lifting his head to stare at Lu Qian. The surrounding cultivators were astonished to see his eyes welling up with tears, "Sect Leader, it’s Quyang County!"
Lu Qian’s hand traced inch by inch across the map, his voice trembling, "Yes, Senior Brother Tan, we... we’re almost home."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Duan and the Yunshan disciples widened their eyes, eyes filled with shock, as they suddenly remembered the Yunshan Sect ideological education book, now deeply ingrained through persistent study.
"Three Hundred Years of Yunshan," "Stories of Yunshan Sect Heroes Through the Ages," "The Beginning and End of the Revival of the Yunshan Sect"...
The three hundred years of Yunshan Sect history could be traced back to a place name, Qingzhou, Quyang County, Yun Mountain.
All the disciples remembered the description in the books.
In the past, the Yunshan Sect was suddenly attacked by external enemies and betrayed by allies, leading to the destruction of the sect. The fourth-generation sect leader, Lu Qian, led the remaining disciples through countless hardships, traversing ten thousand miles to Bichao Mountain in Chongming County, Cangzhou. With extraordinary wisdom and tenacity, they miraculously rebuilt their foundation, creating the now reborn and thriving Yunshan Sect, and steering the Shuangye Alliance, standing proudly south of Chongming.
But now, the place that always existed only in books and imagination was unexpectedly close at hand.
That was their ancestral land, the source of their lineage.
The names of past ancestors, the vivid stories on the books came alive in their minds, and the disciples excitedly stirred, looking towards Lu Qian.
Their eyes were asking, "Sect Leader, what should we do?"
But Lu Qian silently gazed ahead, his thoughts unknown. Tan Hong stood on the back of the Sky Ray, gazing towards the direction of Quyang, clenching his fist tightly.
The other cultivators of the Shuangye Alliance did not understand, only Zhao Xianzong had heard some things. Seeing that Lu Qian did not stop him, he explained what he knew to everyone.
Everyone’s expressions changed—ancestral sect land, inherited lineage, the grievance of extermination...
So, what was the Sect Leader planning to do?
In a silence amid difficulty and anticipation, the Sky Ray crossed into the territory of Quyang County, and familiarity washed over in waves, one familiar scene after another coming into view.
When that obscured yet verdant mountain range appeared before everyone, Tan Hong abruptly turned his head, eyes red, and shouted, "Sect Leader!"
The cultivators of the Shuangye Alliance looked again towards Lu Qian, with the Sky Ray even slowing down. They were all waiting for Lu Qian’s command.
But in the end, they saw Lu Qian shake his head.
"No need to stop; the place I sense isn’t here. Continue forward, it’s not far now."
"Sect Leader!" Tan Hong shouted again, his voice hoarse, eyes filled with tears. The Yunshan disciples were influenced by him, gritting their teeth firmly, hands gripping their sword hilts, expressions full of indignation.
"Senior Brother Tan!" Lu Qian looked directly into Tan Hong’s eyes, grasping his hand tightly, "Trust me, it’s not time yet."